Celebrating the Mid- Autumn Festival or The Moon Festival (September 12)

It didn’t take us long before landing before we heard of two “big” holidays in China that were coming up shortly after we arrived. We were more concerned over the holiday in October (National Holiday) because it is suggested with the huge influx of Chinese traveling it is best to get out of the country and go on holiday. The first holiday however was on September 12, 2011. This holiday is called the Moon Festival. The Moon festival (also called the Mooncake or Mid-Autumn festival) occurs every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year. The Chinese celebrate "zhong qiu jie." Children are told the story of the moon fairy living in a crystal palace, who comes out to dance on the moon's shadowed surface. The legend surrounding the "lady living in the moon" dates back to ancient times, to a day when ten suns appeared at once in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill that would make him immortal. However, his wife found the pill, took it, and was banished to the moon as a result. Legend says that her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon festival. The moon this year was HUGE and full and the sky was perfectly clear. For those of you that know China and its reputation, this is a rarity. It was absolutely stunning! Other Moon Festival Legends According to another legend, on this day the "Man in the Moon" was spotted at an inn, carrying a writing tablet. When questioned, he said he was recording the names of all the happy couples who were fated to marry and live happily forever after. Accordingly, just as June is the traditional month for exchanging nuptials in the west, many Chinese weddings are held during the eighth lunar month, with the fifteenth day being the most popular. Of course, the most famous legend surrounding the Moon festival concerns its possible role in Chinese history. Overrun by the Mongols in the thirteenth century, the Chinese threw off their oppressors in 1368 AD. It is said that mooncakes - which the Mongols did not eat (and I now know why) were the perfect vehicle for hiding and passing along plans for the rebellion. Families were instructed not to eat the mooncakes until the day of the moon festival, which is when the rebellion took place. How to Celebrate the Moon Festival Today, Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with dances, feasting and moon gazing. Not to mention mooncakes. While baked goods are a common feature at most Chinese celebrations (but baking is not the same here as in the West), mooncakes are inextricably linked with the Moon festival. One type of traditional mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste (doesn’t that sound scrumptious.) Roughly the size of a human palm, these mooncakes are quite filling, meant to be cut diagonally in quarters and passed around. A word of caution: the salty yolk in the middle, representing the full moon, is an acquired taste (and one that NONE of us plan to acquire.) More elaborate versions of mooncakes contain four egg yolks (representing the four phases of the moon). Besides lotus seed paste, other traditional fillings include red bean paste and black bean paste. Unfortunately for dieters, mooncakes are rather high in calories. Given the difficulty of making them, most people prefer to purchase their mooncakes instead of making them. You'll find them at Asian bakeries beginning around mid-August.